Process of destroying insects.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARNOLD ERLENBAOH, OF DESSAU, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR T ACTIEN' GESELLSCl-IAFT FUR ANILIN FABRIKATION, OF BERLIN, GERMANY.

PROCESS OF DESTROYING- INSECTS.

No Drawin g.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, ARNOLD ERLENBAOH, a subject of the King of Bavaria, residing at Dessau, Germany, my post-ofiice address being Schillerstrasse 5, Dessau, Germany, have invented new and useful Improvements in Processes of Destroying Insects, of which the following is a specification.

Naphthalene and camphor have generally been used for protecting furs from damage by moths. These substances act as insectifuges owing to their unpleasant odor, but they are not insecticides and are uncertain in their action. Moreover, the smell of these substances as mentioned before i s by no means pleasant, an objection shared by other materials which have been used for killing the beetles and other insects that attack zoological and other collections.

Now my present invention relates to a new means for protecting furs and skins from the attack of moths and the like it having been found that para-dichlorobenzene which has not an unpleasant odor is an excellent agent for this purpose; its action is due to the fact that, unlike naphthalene and camphor, it is a direct poison for these insects, so that after a comparatively short time moths and larvae thereof are completely killed. Para-dichlorobenzene is also fatal to the insects which cause great damage to museums. Forexample, this substance kills with certainty not only decay mites but also museum beetles (Anthrenus mweorum) and their larvae; in the like manner lard beetles and their larvae are killed by vapor of para-dichlorobenzene. A further important application of this insecticide is as a substitute for the poisons, such as potassium cyanid, hitherto used for killing beetles, butterflies and the like caught by collectors. The use of para: dichlorobenzene for several purposes aforesaid represents, therefore, an essential advance over the prior art.

The following examples lllustrate the use of the new insecticide l. Paradichlorobenzene in the form of crystals, powders or tablets is introduced Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed October 23, 1912.

Patented May 19, 1914. Serial No. 727,434.

into a Well-closed store-room; the vapors which fill the room within a short time kill rapidly all insects therein and the same fate overtakes any that may enter the room.

2. To kill collectors insects a suitable quantity of para-dichlorobenzene in any sultable form is introduced into the wellclosed receptacle; even large beetles may be kllled just as by potassium cyanid, although the action may be somewhat slower.

3. For preserving stuffed animals, butterflies, beetles or the like, paradichloroben- I zene, is introduced into the glass case in any desired quantity in any form; thus it may be introduced as vapor, in solution or admixed with other substances.

4. In some cases it is advisable to use the para-dichlorobenzene in solution; for instance 10 parts may be dissolved in 100 parts in alcohol. The solution may be distributed by spraying it into the chamber to be filled with the vapor; or the solution may be spread over the objects to be protected from the attack of insects, for instance furs or clothes.

- The para-dichlorobenzene may of course also be used as absorbed by some convenient material, such as paper or textile fabric or the like. Likewise it may be employed in admixture with other suitable material, such as easily or not easily volatile materials and more especially in admixture with naphthalene or camphor. Thus for instance 100 parts of naphthalene in a. finely divided state and 100 parts of para-dichlorobenzene also in a finely divided state are thoroughly mixed together; the preparation thus obtained represents a special form of my new insectifuge or insecticide.

Now what I claim is,

1. Process of destroying obnoxious insects by exposing them to the vapors of para-dichlorobenzene. J

2. Process of protecting furs, skins and the like from the attack of obnoxious insects by exposing them to the vapors of paradichlorobenzene.

3. Process of destroying insects causing great damage to museums, by introducing paradichlorobenzene into the receptacle In testimony whereof I have signed my containing the objects to be protected and name to this specification in the presence of 10 the insects to be killed. two subscribing Witnesses.

I 4. Process of destroying insects causing I, ARNOLD ERLENBAOH' a great damage to museums by introducing para-dichlorobenzene in the solid state into Witnesses: the receptacle containing the objects to be VVOLDEMAR HAUPT, protected and the insects to be killed. HENRY HASPER. 

